<p>Hi, </p>
<p>Can anyone tell me about Birnkrant, Trojan Hall, Pardee Tower, Marks Tower and The Arts and Humanities dorm? I'm trying to decide how to rank my top 5 choices. </p>
<p>THANKS!</p>
<p>I’m assuming you are a transfer/spring admit? Anyway, this topic has been addressed many times, so try searching this forum for housing threads and creating a pro/con list. Assess what is most important to you: living space, dining ammenities, general atmosphere, price, etc. and go from there. Consult with the housing packet USC included in your admission package. For me, that was very helpful, as I was able to make decisions about numbers of roommates, kitchens/bathrooms, AC, cost, etc. Also try searching YouTube. I know that Viterbi students made a video just a month or two ago touring different kinds of USC housing options. That should help a little. </p>
<p>As far as your five specific options go, I know for a fact that Birkrant is ONLY for scholarship recipients, and my impression about the others from what I’ve read is that Trojan Hall is supposedly not very modern/desirable, the Arts and Humanities Dorm has a lot of international students and is fairly quiet, Pardee Tower seems to be a pretty happy medium of quiet and lively, and I’m actually not too sure about Marks Tower (sorry!). </p>
<p>Hope that helps. Best of luck!</p>
<p>I lived in Arts and Humanities this past year and I wouldn’t choose any other dorm over it. It’s a really nice place in terms of appearance and amenities, the RAs and other residents this past year were generally awesome people, and it’s at a good social balance - it’s not too quiet like IRC is, and it’s not a zoo like New/North is. The “quiet” reputation of Parkside is because of the International Residential College right next to Arts & Humanities, not A&H itself.</p>
<p>Birnkrant is the scholarship dorm, so if you don’t have a scholarship, that’s out of the picture. It’s also pretty quiet save for the occasional ruckus outside.</p>
<p>Pardee seems pretty cool, although I’ve never been inside, to be honest. My friends who live there like it, except for one who wishes he would have chosen A&H.</p>
<p>Marks and Trojan don’t really have reputations for being good places to live, so I would put those at the bottom of the list unless you have friends who are living there or want close access to a nearby building or something.</p>